In March 2026, the Australian Financial Review featured our global equities fund's perspective on volatile market conditions as the ASX 200 recovered modestly amid geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East. The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed up 0.2 per cent at 8379.40, rebounding from a 10-month low, though well below its intraday peak as initial optimism faded.
Markets initially surged after US President Trump postponed military strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure, causing Brent crude to plunge 11 per cent before recovering to $US103 per barrel. However, reports of potential US ally involvement in the conflict tempered investor enthusiasm.
Our portfolio manager Thomas Rice provided insights on the situation, cautioning against premature optimism:
"Trump stepping back from striking Iran's energy assets takes the worst-case scenario off the table, but for this optimism to have real legs we need to see credible co-operation from both sides, and Iran hasn't affirmed that. Given how many yo-yo moves we've already had during this conflict, it would be premature to assume one headline has taken geopolitical risk off the table."
Australian mining stocks gained the most in almost a year as bargain hunters returned, with BHP climbing 3 per cent and Rio Tinto advancing 2.2 per cent. To read the article, click the link below.